Princess of Wales reveals she admired another teen icon during her youth, not the future king. While Prince William was enjoying immense popularity as a royal heartthrob during his teenage years, his future wife, Kate Middleton, says she was not among those swooning over his posters.
Contrary to long-standing rumours, Kate did not have William’s picture pinned to her dorm wall during her school years at Marlborough College. The revelation came during the couple’s engagement interview in 2010, when she clarified she was actually a fan of a Levi’s model, not the young prince.
Royal author Katie Nicholl, in her book Kate: The Future Queen, wrote that Kate’s classmates believed she had a crush on William, with one friend, Jessica Hay, claiming Kate would often say: “There’s no one quite like William.”
However, Kate told interviewer Tom Bradby: “No, I had the Levi’s guy on my wall, not a picture of William.” William joked, “It was me in Levi’s, obviously!”
During the late 1990s, Prince William became a sensation, with magazines like Hello! and People featuring him as a teen idol. The media dubbed the craze “Willsmania”, thanks to his charming smile and royal lineage. Tatler magazine even named him the most eligible bachelor for the year 2000.
Kate, however, remained focused on academics and sports like hockey during her time at Marlborough. Though she and William may have crossed paths at inter-school events, they reportedly didn’t interact much until university.
Their official love story began at the University of St Andrews in 2001, where they were friends first before romance blossomed. A memorable moment in their relationship came when William paid £200 to sit front row at a student fashion show in which Kate walked the ramp in a bold sheer dress, a moment often cited as a turning point in their relationship.
They eventually moved into a shared house with friends and announced their engagement in 2010. The royal couple married in a globally televised ceremony in 2011 and now have three children together.
While the poster rumour has now been put to rest, Kate Middleton’s story is a reminder that real-life connections often begin quietly — away from the gaze of adoring fans and glossy magazine covers.